Unitary rotary seal, including both stationary and rotatable sealing rings



March 16, 1954 M. CHAMBERS,

ARY SE UNITARY ET AL AL, INCLUDI BOTH STATIONARY AND ATAB S LE SEALING RING ed Nov. l5, 1950 1 NToRs //Z' M C7 In ers, JIT Hara/dif finer BY Kari C'. W man Patented Mar. 16, 1954 tlonvet"- Y essignorsitollhe.. (erlo m13@ xsi. Palmyre). Ni. 'Ya e; einen! This invention'- -relatesio to improvement; in rotary-'Seals suoli-as are.-u ee..dfor-,eell1ie ell-ari.: miler spese between. affrotatelole, Shoit ory the likerand v the, surround-ing;cylindrical snisfage le9 fming an opening irl-a machu- 1e easing`-through Which-the shaft extends. More particularly. the invention is directed; to, the' provieionof suela a seal. in which thevseal is manufactured a com plete Package, or unit -wzhioli vincludes therewithm-hotli-a stalloilary-f` sealing en flfe rotatable sealing ring which, in use,V effect a running;V egal witlpeaph other?.

Such unitary-rotary. seeflsfherelaeere dexleloped harebeen quite complex. beeeuee of "eoiieioereble dieultiee. whieli. are involved -ll'enoelie elle retaininglbeth theeietlerie' rotetebleeeel# meririee within ai ingle ellior-eomeineit-L Ari importent. obieet' of; the.' preeeritirwentioli is.- the provision. or' Siieh aunitary 'rotary Seel whieli ineludes bolli.. e. etationelry'eeelioe; rioe andv oratory eealrieeringlleutwliioli, nererthgeleee., is simple andv inexperieire lio-moelle."

vAnother important! object.; of lille iriverilioi is the provision of euch.; e unitary rotary Seal irl which e-sngle element. serteeaeia medlllmley malen both a stationary seal-ine.. ringen@ eretery sealinering are held Within elle devoe.

A n'otler iirinoifteirlt.A object of tlie inverltloll lS the provision ei'eueh urlitelry i veliieh one of thejeeelirie, rines tlierei te! en. annuler linger spring to; meinte j sealing, ring entete..ritielly coiioerit C rel. ship to the, exis ofthe. ,Shelter ofj'the me casing opening throughv which tne'shgdt' e e Another imgiortarlt obi .Iof'tliie im the provieion. of a unitary rotary seal wliieh. e eubetaotially. 'liet spring. is' eoieeeooiete'fl willi elle o f.-- elle. sealing rines 1liY the." devioe' enel willi." e ilexbla sealing diaphragm therein, that spring serves both to urge. said Semmering t Q tive running eeelirig' engagement ter sealing. rineirithedevice and. to. reioioree ille cieiphregmv against; heme ruptured. eolijected to relatively high nidjpijeuigeand to litrietiiir;Y etreseeei.e

Another important objeet Qithie invention. le trie-.provision ofje unitary rotary eeel irijwh a eliigle element. .which sedapteslto'v l lrlft'wo. ingringeiri association' witlitlieoevlee; else'. tions as ajpressure member WhiCh-lglllly 'lll .ZES a portion of a flexible sealing diaphragnlbetween it end-a ehell member oli-the eleviee iloA elle@ a :.i.i.-,rm..y iluiclf seal between .the diaphragm the ,eiliellf .fghgegggggemg grid. einer. .obl ere .genieten Eig.` 2 isa radelellonalviem Qfotliedeyie. substantiallyon,theljne `F" Manci.

Figs. eend lelie entrel., lele; @eetlepel riewe. generally Similar 'i1-elle @lello-the@ f- 9.03 tier-1A or rig,4 1,. .outfilluelratieeoet ier-oi .generous possible modications of'the preseptfirmlefnlll- Referring fire-l;- te, theemlooelirllent of ihleinvenilon. illiieireledfliii-Fige l eed .2.; meile-flee compi-ieee er Query-.shaped outer,- Shellor. element,` H formed; willi.- ef Centralieperlllre l2.. through which Slieitl '3.o may extend'. end, lier.- irle enouier eylinolrieel welll-4 edepleelilo be substantiel-1y flili.ffl-lightlyA preste flttell into an opening lef-in.- e-meeliirie easing. le; wliiehdor exemple. may? be el eeeirie; of l el Dampfer' other mechanicalrdexgioe,

In Fig. 1, certain shifealele nerieei 'ille Seel vere illustrated iii. -rieeiiioiiewlileli they flemme when the device. is oPeretiQn-eod ilieldevloefieeliowri rie-beine arranged lo, eleeteeeelabetweeli the meehineeeeine: .Iefend-ilie-Shefl l?, upon which apumri imriellerloreli. relating. moelilile oler meint,` .shownflieg/.reer.;torilxlrv at l1.. lllelll meimtedleie rotation Alherellilhf,

.Inl-additionele'ille-Shell Lllllleiieillee includes. withineeirl Shelli e.- fl'eirlble eliephregee Il 91 releiively eoitilexlolefrubbler or riiloleer-llkemef teriel (hereinafter. relerreell to,A for eoiiveilienee merely eer rohleerll eo oreille-rfllleel? erzhle le, or substantially liet. Spr an, inner prriplierel.v Series.. and preferably moldeclt associate@ with 'elle die iienerr sealing. rilie- 'lli er other ,Suiieleile rie' meleriel. preferably eel'- hererillyeesoeieted lili lliedleplireglll willi. @l1 annuler reoese me llieirloer perinllerellmeee ein tliereo-il AY :rotatable-- eeeliee rlrle/ .2| Wlilell einer4 lieof eulteble metall eem-6r' ,ereeh or olllerfrleid Within Shell l!- meielriel. also @lello with its. seelirieffeee 25|. epeeeel rurmlpseeel- 'Zlla Qi'llle Srta nary lng reletioilto,eeeelloef e l el" ielelilvelll eelt.

flexible rubber or rubber-like material of substantially circular cross-section when unflexed, is disposed within an internal annular recess 23 formed in the wear ring 2| and, when installed within a machine, is compressed and somewhat deformed radially between the rotatable sealing ring 2| and the surface of the shaft |3 for the dual purpose of effecting a substantially fixed seal between the two last mentioned parts and for causing the sealing ring 2| to rotate with the shaft.

The device also includes means for retaining the several parts I8, i9, and 2| within the shell the said means being in the form of a rigid retaining ring 24 which is angular in axial section with an axial flange 25 and an inwardly extending radial flange 26. The axial flange 25 may advantageously be frusta-conical but almost cylindrical in shape and disposed within the shell with its free end 2l' in engagement with one side of the diaphragm I8 toward the latters outer periphery.

As the retaining ring is held in place in the shell by a rolled-in annular lip 28 on the free edge of the shells cylindrical wall i4 and as the rolling-in of said lip forces the retaining ring leftwardly as viewed in Fig. l, the latter ring squeezes the diaphragm very tightly against radial wall 29 of the shell which not only establishes a fluid-tight engagement of the diaphragm with the wall 29 but also distorts the outer marginal portion of the diaphragm to cause it to ow in the form of an annular tongue 3% which extends between and effects a fluid-tight seal between the axial iiange 25 of the retaining ring and the inner surface of the shells cylindrical wall I4.

If desired, the diaphragm as formed may be of somewhat greater diameter than the inside diameter of the wall I4, thus insuring that the tongue 30 will be of appreciable axial dimension; or the diaphragm may be molded initially with the tongue 3|! formed thereon. In any of the several alternative arrangements just described,

Ya very effective fluid seal is established between 4.

the diaphragm and the shell: and the spring I9, at its outer margin, is firmly clamped in place against the shell wall 29.

The rotatable sealing ring 2| is formed witha continuous outer, radial flange 3| having outer over all diameter which is greater than the inside diameter of the flange 25 of the retaining ring. Thus, the rotatable sealing ring 2|. as well as the parts I8, and Zfl, is retained securely within the shell I4 at all times following coin pletion of manufacture of the device as a unitary seal. The O ring 22 may be placed in the recess 23 at the factory and, with ordinary handling, it should stay in place because of its frictional engagement with the walls of said recess. However, it may be left for the workman to insert the O ring in place when the device is installed for operation in a machine.

Before the completed device is installed the spring I9 urges the inner marginal portion of the diaphragm I8, and the sealing ring 2S rightwardly, thereby pushing and holding the sealing ring 2| with its flange 3| against the retainingr rings flange 25. When the device is installed for use, as shown in Fig. l, it is pushed rightwardly upon the shaft I3 until the outer end of the rotatable ring 2| abuts the opposed flat end surface of the impeller or equivalent member and, then, somewhat further rightwardly against increased flexing of the spring fingers |9a to provide a substantial clearance between the flange 3| of the rotatable sealing ring and the radial flange 26 of the retaining ring.

It may be noted that, although the spring fingers lila may be embedded in or bonded to the rubber diaphragm material, the softness of the latter material permits them to flex axially quite freely and to shift relatively to each other circumferentially in the presence of any relative axial movement of the shaft and the machine casing. Also, in embodiments in which a flat metal spring is embedded in or intimately associated with one side of the rubber diaphragm, the spring serves to reinforce the diaphragm against rupture even in the presence of relatively high pressure in the sealed fluid.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 differs from that of Fig. 1 only in that instead of the one piece retaining ring 2li there is provided a rigid cylindrical adapter o r spacing ring 32 and a separate retaining washer 33; rf *he adapter 32 presses against the outer margin of the diaphragm i8 and urges the spring l@ firmly into fluid-tight engagement with the radial wall 29 of the shell. In this construction, also, the axial pressure imposed by the adapter 32 on the diaphragm increases the force with which the outer periphery of the diaphragm engages the ci linrical wall ifi of the shell, thereby enchanoing the seal therebetween at that circumferential location.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 differs from that of Fig. l principally in that a portion corresponding operatively with the rotatable sealing ring 2| of Fig. 1 is formed integrally with a collar adapted for fixation upon a shaft. Thus, the structure of Fig. 4 includes a rotatable sealing collar 31 held on the shaft I3 by a set screw 38. The sealing collar 3l is sealed with respect to the shaft and retained within the shell in the same manner as hereinbefore described with reference to the other embodiments.

It should be understood that, as with most types of shaft sealing devices, the present invention comprehends not only arrangements which, as illustrated, have the shell force fitted into a shaft opening in a machine casing, but also a reverse structure (not illustrated) in which the functional equivalent of the shell is force fitted upon a shaft and the sealing ring, which is fixedly associated with such shell-equivalent member, effects a running seal with an annular fiat or radial surface formed about the shaft opening in the machine casing.

Without attempting to foresee all possible variations of this invention it may be observed that the flat spring need not necessarily be bonded to the rubber diaphragm. Such bonding is preferred, however, because, then, the spring functions as a positive means for preventing any material relative rotation between the sealing ring 29 and the shell l which might cause twisting distortion and consequent eventual rupture of the rubber diaphragm.

Those familiar with the art pertinent to this invention will readily appreciate that it may be embodied in a variety of sealing device structures. .Henca the invention should not be considered `as involving limitations except as set forth in the following claim.

' We claim:

A unitary device for sealing an annular space between two coaxial, relatively rotatable machine parts, comprising a rigid, annular, unifying element having a cylindrical wall adapted for substantially fluid-tight, xed association with one of said machine parts, and an annular, radial wall at one end of the cylindrical wall, a flexible, annular, sealing member disposed with one of its peripheries within the angle dened by said walls and adjacent to the juncture of said walls in intimate association with both of the latter, and having an annular web which extends radially from 'said periphery Within said angle and has a rear surface facing and in spaced relationship to said radial wall, a first sealing ring Ifluidtightly associated with the flexible sealing meinbers other periphery, a second sealing ring adapted for substantially fluid-tight, xed association with the other of said machine parts and for effecting a running seal with the first sealing ring, an annular spring, of resilient sheet material of substantially uniform thickness, having a dat marginal portion which is clamped between the said radial wall and an annular marginal portion of the flexible sealing member at the latters said one periphery and having plural spring fingers, adapted for urging the rst sealing ring toward the second sealing ring, which spring ingers extend radially from said marginal portion of the spring in intimate association with said rear surface of said flexible sealing members web, substantially throughout the latters radial dimension, and, collectively, are in intimate, xed association with a major part of the circular dimension of the Webs said rear surface, whereby to support the web against pressure and twisting forces, and a rigid retaining ring having a frusto-conical, axial fiange one end of which is in contact with the said ilexible sealing member adjacent to the latters said one periphery in spaced relationship to said cylindrical wall. and the other end of which is in contact with said cylindrical Wall toward the latters other end, and the retaining ring having, also, a ange extending radially from the other end of the retaining rings axial flange into substantial, axial alignment with a portion of the second sealing ring in position to engage the latter and limit its axial movement in a direction away from said radial wall; the free edge of the cylindrical wall having a radial extending portion in axial alignment with a portion of the retaining ring whereby to hold the latter in its mentioned relationship to the other parts of the device.

ALBERT M. CHAMBERS, J R.

HAROLD F. GREINER.

KARL C. WIZEMAN.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,275,307 Murden Mar. 3, 1942 2,311,494 Vedovell Feb. 16, 1943 2,316,713 Procter Apr. 13, 1943 2,322,834 Dornhafer June 29, 1943 2,342,955 Meyer Feb. 29, 1944 2,395,359 Vedovell Feb. 19, 1946 2,419,385 Beier Apr. 22, 1947 2,479,968 Schick Aug. 23, 1949 2,489,781 Isenbarger Nov. 29, 1949 2,498,739 Magnesen Feb. 28, 1950 

